Lyudmila Smirnova talks about media industry trends at NAF-2022

Lyudmila Smirnova, Deputy CEO of Gazprom-Media Holding, talked about current media industry trends at the strategic session “Future of National Companies” of the National Advertising Forum (NAF). Gazprom-Media is a Title Partner of the forum this year.
The information agenda continues to impact the audience’s behavior. People worry about what is happening worldwide, and therefore media indicators for informational, social and political broadcasting are growing. During the period from January to October 2022 inclusive, these genres represented about one third of the total TV viewed,” said Lyudmila Smirnova. “But people cannot keep worrying too much all the time: sooner or later, stress decreases, and the want to switch over to something else appears. This is how we see our social mission as the largest producer of original content at the market. Entertainment content is still in demand, and Gazprom-Media Holding continues to invest in new formats and projects this year.” In 2023, the companies of the Holding will publish more premiere content than in 2022, she said.
In her presentation, Lyudmila Smirnova provided statistics of media consumption via digital media. In 2022, Russians started spending 35% more time on digital content consumption than in 2021; in absolute figures, it increased from 20 to 27 hours per week. “The system of content supply and distribution is changing – western majors have left the market, and the content available for consumers has decreased by as much as 50%. The advertising landscape is also changing,” she added.
Historically, original content prevails on TV channels and platforms of Gazprom Media, Lyudmila Smirnova noted. “We have not just determined this focus for us – the Holding always invested in our own production for the domestic market, looking for and developing its own talents and stars. As a result, the majors leaving the market did not make our business less resilient, and we are as ready as ever to provide advertisers with safe, stable and high-quality environment for efficient integration.”
The sixth National Advertising Forum is held on November 10 and 11 in Moscow, attracting representatives of agencies, brands, media and technology companies.